Saints Row The Third screenshots: Fighter jets and pedestrian-firing cannons

New visuals, more customisation and over-the-top driving

Developer Volition Inc. isn't relying solely on crazy antics to draw in the crowds however, as it's revealed a huge list of improvements for the third game. For one, it's set in a new city, Steelport, and is created using an entirely new game engine that's faster and better looking; think a slightly more polished GTA IV but with a cartoon edge. Driving has been revamped to become a lot more enjoyable - the aforementioned examples are just a taste of the unique bells and whistles that most vehicles come with - but the core driving from A to B has almost a Burnout feel to it, at least in presentation. There's impressive amounts of motion blur and camera shake, and is designed to be more over-the-top and inspired by fast-paced action movies.

Customisation was a big part of earlier Saints Row titles, and the third instalment takes things even further. Vehicles can be tinkered with not only in appearance, but also in form and function, including the amount of damage it can take and how it handles. When it comes to players themselves, little adjustments to physical appearance will be a lot more straightforward, while absurd options including green and blue skin types as well as increased 'sex appeal' will be available. Clothing purchases will also be more straightforward, where every store will host the same set of purchases, with choices as creative as the rest of the game, including furry varieties, spacesuits and superhero costumes.

So what can you actually do in the game? An open-world lives and dies by the activities outside of main missions, and it certainly appears that the development team understands that. The city of Steelport is designed to be dense in many ways. Visually it's an old, industrial place with plenty of elevation and variety, and it's also structured to give players plenty to do, as associate producer James Torbit explains. "The other way of density of stuff to do, in that round every corner there's something to entertain you or play with or another mission," he said. "We just want to bombard the player with things to do all the time."

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One example was a a tank mayhem activity, similar to that in Saints Row 2, requiring players to create as much destruction as possible using turret fire and rolling over cars, and fight off an literal army of soldiers while doing so. Another more persistent element is restoring regions of the city under your control, which in turn supply you with a regular supply of money. Not only are there various gangs with their own appearances and weapons, but you have plenty of options to disperse them with too, such as a satellite-guided missile barrage that made easy work of a dense group of thugs. Other specific examples weren't outlined in this early stage, but it's set to offer plenty to see and do off the beaten track.

Elsewhere, story missions are designed to offer a heavy contrast to the open-ended hijinks of exploring the city, featuring scripted, high-impact moments that will be "really memorable". The opening moments of Saints Row The Third gives you a good idea of how things have progressed since last time round; The Saints aren't just a gang but are now a highly-marketed brand, complete with merchandising, sponsorship deals and its members living the rock star lifestyle. Its leaders, including the infamous Johnny Gat, decide to rob a bank (not for money, but for sport), and are accompanied by an actor hoping to learn about their way of life. The comedic opening sees the group dressed in over-sized Gat masks and comedic voices, before all hell breaks loose and heavily-armed security forces swarm in to take them on.

Moving from room to room blasting away goons, the combat is designed to be light and breezy, purposely lacking a cover system and ammo counters, allowing players to concentrate solely on the action. With the vault sealed, the group make their way to the floor above it, and with the help of a helicopter above, rip it out of the building and into the air. Standing on top of the suspended vault, your job is to keep the rooftop enemies and circling attack choppers at bay with gunfire and grenades. After several minutes the wires holding up the vault snap, seeing you slide off and hang from the side, and continue to fire shots at the enemies around you, before the helicopter crashes and your team are arrested. It's a scripted but certainly a stand-out part of the demo, and between these cinematic missions and open-world diversions, Saints Row The Third looks to be pulling out the stops to keep players engaged in whatever they choose to do.

Saints Row The Third will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 15 in North America and November 18 across Europe.